Tuesday, June 14, 2016

MPD: Marshall's crime rate drops 20 percent in 2015

"The numbers are based on a comparison of overall crime in 2013 and 2014," a press release from MPD said.

MPD Police Chief Jesus "Eddie" Campa also pointed out that MPD's clearance rate increased by 3 percent from 2013 to 2014. He attributed both the decrease in crime rate and increase in clearance rate to the newly formed partnership between the community and local law enforcement.

"It's a combined effort between thelaw enforcement and communitystepping forward," Campa said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "They've given us a lot more tips in the last five months I've been here and helped us out, and people are becoming more involved.

"We've built a strong, close relationship with the citizens," he said.

Since Campa's hiring, MPD has put into effect communication initiatives, such as neighborhood watch meetings and town hall meetings to promote and enhance healthy, trusting relationships between the citizens and officers. And because of the department's proactive approaches in capturing criminals and putting them in jail, people are also realizing that Marshall is no longer the hideout, it once was considered, for criminals, Campa said.

One proactive approach, for instance, is the creation of the department's street crime unit, the Marshall Criminal Apprehension Team, which has been successful in its mission to stymie crime in the city's hot zones that have been plagued with burglary, graffiti or drug activity.

And in addition to MPD being more proactive, citizens are also taking a more proactive approach to help eradicate crime, Campa said.

"It's helping reduce the crime and helping our clearance rate go up," he said. "People are finally getting over that cliché - snitches end up in ditches. We're here to protect and serve."

Regarding the reduction in crime, MPD statistics show that in 2014, there were a total of 2,279 crimes reported to the Marshall Police Department, compared to 2,823 crimes reported in 2013. Additionally, there were 544 less crimes committed in 2014, which indicates that there was nearly a 20 percent reduction in the overall crime rate in the city of Marshall. Further, the police department's clearance rate for crimes committed in 2013 was 63 percent, while in 2014 the clearance rate increased to 66 percent.

Chief Campa expressed his appreciation to his staff and the community for working together to keep the community safe.

"It takes both the citizens of Marshall along with the police to deter crime. I want to thank the men and women of MPD, both the Patrol Bureau and the Criminal Investigations Bureau," said Chief Campa. "Each officer of the Police Department works hard every day to make Marshall a safe community to live and work in."